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While Blake Lively hasn’t publicly broken her silence on the ongoing controversy surrounding the highest-grossing box-office hit of her career, It Ends With Us, a source close to the actress has shared some insights into her state of mind.
For the uninitiated, Lively was accused of being tone-deaf in her approach to marketing the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel given the content heavily deals with intimate partner violence. The star was also alleged to be embroiled in a rift with her co-star and the movie’s director, Justin Baldoni, with insiders claiming Lively heavily influenced the creative direction, even going so far as to have her own version of the release cut.
Netizens turned their fury on the star following the theatrical release given many were unaware of the subject matter. Some dredged up old interviews that seemingly demonstrate a pattern of Lively’s insensitivity. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants star advertised It Ends By Us by saying, “grab your friends, wear your florals, and head out to see it!” while also pushing her haircare line Blake Brown Beauty which left many feeling as if the brand founder wasn’t showing as much concern for the film’s themes as she should’ve, too.
Now, a month after the outrage erupted, People have reported that Lively was “pretty surprised at the backlash and drama”.
“She initially felt very vulnerable and upset,” the source revealed to the outlet, adding that the situation “felt out of control to her”.
“During the promotion of the movie, not one day went by when she was not in the news in an unfavourable light. She’s just not used to this kind of drama,” they continued.
Lively has not made any personal statements to address the scandal. Rather, the mother-of-four has kept a relatively low profile save for a few rare sightings of Lively with her husband Ryan Reynolds walking through New York. Taylor Swift is also said to have thrown Lively her 37th birthday party at her Rhode Island mansion where the Gossip Girl alumni celebrated with Travis Kelce and Bradley Cooper among others.
Prior to the press tour for It Ends With Us, Lively had wrapped filming A Simple Favour 2 on the Italian island of Capri. The publication reports that the release schedule for the upcoming sequel has not been disrupted by the outcry, with the source noting Lively “enjoys working and will continue to push forward projects that she’s excited about”.
